Did you hear about Bambi Mehta? The one who got that new job at Embassy Gold Links, and was all set to move into his brand new rented apartment on a sunny Saturday morning. When he landed up with all his shiny new furniture at his new apartment after paying his hefty 10 months of rent deposit (his hard earned savings, mind you), he was in for an interesting surprise. His landlord did not show. In fact, the landlord was not even in the country. In fact, as it turned out the landlord had never even received the deposit. Our friend, Bambi Mehta (name changed, of course), had paid the deposit to – eh, yes you guessed right - an imposter! Now, before we pass judgement on our friend, Bambi Mehta, let’s just consider whether we ourselves take these precautions when oh so excitedly moving into our brand new rented home!Here are 3 things every tenant should do before selecting that brand new home:

1. Verify ownershipAre you sure that the party you are dealing with is the actual owner or an official representative of the owner? If they claim to be the owner, please ask for some proof. The below are some examples of ownership proof:

Electricity bill, or

Property tax paid receipt, or

The Khata, or

Registered sale deed

If they are a representative, please check for some official document authorising them to deal on the owner’s behalf. This is especially true if you are dealing with an individual or a small firm. Larger property management companies will check ownership when taking on a property under management (we always do), so when dealing with a reputed company, you can skip this step.

2. Check termination clausesIt is in the interest of all parties to have a reasonable exit clause. At PropertyAngel, we consider 2 months reasonable. It gives the tenant sufficient time to find a new place, and for us to find a new tenant. We also give every tenant a freshly painted and professionally cleaned house, and expect that they return it in the same professional condition when they vacate. We make sure that all our clauses are transparent, and no one feels unfairly treated. However, if you are not dealing with a professional firm such as ours, please ensure that you check for such clauses, and ensure that they are present, mutual and fair.

3. Sign an exhaustive Inventory CheckIt is also in the interest of all parties to know EXACTLY how the property was passed from one to the next. At PropertyAngel we give the tenant a detailed inventory check that we ask them to sign. At exit, the tenant is not accountable for anything that was not mentioned in that form, or for anything that was damaged when they took the place.If you are not dealing with a professional firm, it is best you do this check yourself.

Well, we hope our friend, Bambi Mehta was able to recover his deposit and find a new house! Like they say, “Learning from your mistakes is smart. Learning from other’s mistakes is wise.” Happy wise-house hunting to you!

​As with the General Services Tax (GST), which needlessly put fear into consumers about rising prices, RERA, the Real Estate Regulation Act, currently tending to slow purchases of property, will actually be a boon. But you needn’t slow down buying and lose out. Well, RERA can actually be considered a process and not an ultimatum. Think of it. For example, even real estate agents have to register under it. Only then will they be authorised to continue in their business. Shouldn’t that make you feel safe? Hang on, we’ll talk you through it more. But just imagine the broad and all encompassing idea of this Act. It’s like the putting the scoreboard operator at the cricket stadium through a qualification and registration process when you go there to watch your Virat Kohli slam bang show! Your protection as a consumer is foremost, therefore even a relatively straightforward job of an intermediary’s is not taken for granted. Needless to say all other actors have to fall in line. Well, of course, developers themselves and well, even states have to fall in line and register themselves.Gen Y would ask you to take a chill pill and go about your task of scouting your favourite property, but paying attention to some basic facts – check out on the developer’s website if they are pursing RERA compliance. Non RERA compliant developers will cease to be in the market and their projects will be absorbed by bigger ones who will in fact be RERA compliant.Don’t let waiting for favourable market conditions slow you down. The cleanup in the market will inadvertently happen through RERA. Look for properties which are in advanced stages of completion, if not complete yet. Of course, for newbies, note that the oracle called RERA will among other benefits, ensure that construction delay is not caused, show track records of developers on its own website, aside from details of litigations, advertisements and prospectus issued about the project and registered agents and consultants. There will be no sale without the property being registered with RERA, no registrations without approvals and no pre-launches. All advertising material will need to be registered, all registration will be on carpet area and not super built up area. With 70% sale proceeds needing to go to Escrow (preventing fund diversion), huge penalties and imprisonments for violations and if defaulting, builders needing to return all the money invested or a monthly interest till delivery, RERA sure is taking care of all of us.RERA is indeed Reality. Go shopping now without fear. There can always be a perceived “better time,” but remember the olde saying “Time’s a tyrant.”